Paper making apparatus



Filed May 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fill/11,111.

INVENTOR.

July 5, 1960 P. A. FASOLI 2,943,678

PAPER MAKING APPARATUS Filed May 17, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 2,943,678PAPER MAKING APPARATUS This invention relates to improvements in papermaking apparatus and. is directed more particularly to apparatus wherebya web is formed on the upper portion ofthe ascending side of theforaminous surface'of a cylinder.

According to one novel feature of the invention-cooperating means isprovided for controlling and regu- S ates Patent "ice 2,943,678 a 1Patented July 196g A the cylinder is supported by the supports 10, forrotation lating the flowof stock onto the sheet forming portion of thesurfaceof the cylinder. The stock is controlled and regulated in such amanner that the volume ,and'

yelocity .of stock may be withinpredetermined limits whereby 'webs ofvarious calipers and types may be formed with uniform fiberdistributionpand at .high

speeds.

According to another novelfeatureofthe invention on a horizontal Thecylinder may be rotated by various means but for illustrative purposesone of the rings 7 is provided with gear teeth 16 which are inengagement with a driving gear 18 of a shaft 20 that is journalled inbearings 22, integral with the sideframes. The shaft may be driven fromany suitable source such as a motor, not shown. a Y V i A head box orstock pondis formed by g-transversely spaced side walls 24 extendingrearwardly'from Opp site ends of the cylinder. Forward or inner ends ofthe walls 24 will be sealed, in the usual manner, to opposite ends ofthe cylinder. A rear. wall '26 and abottom wall :28 are connected torear portions of the side walls 24. s

A stock inlet 29 is provided which for illustrative purposes has innerand outer walls 30 and 32 which flare upwardly, as shown. I

The stock inlet may take the form of a multiple manifold where a pipe orpipes branch to plural pipes. Such results in a self cleaning system andprovides uniform entry of stock into the pond chamber.

The foraminous surface ofthe cylinder is represented diagrammatically byF, in Fig. .3, for clearness.

The inlet wall 30 terminates in an upper apron which may terminate in aflexible sealingrnernber 34 secured and in combination with the meansfor controlling and regulating stock there isprovided for cooperatingthere with means for dewatering the sheet and separating air 2 and waterand for eliminating the same to the end that high speed operation .maybe attained. ;Altogether the stock controlling and regulating means andthe-air and water eliminating meanscooperate to facilitate not only highspeedoperation, but the production of a web or sheet having desiredpredetermined characteristics by the utilization of. various sheetforming materials.

The novel features of the apparatu s of the invention Will be observedfrom the disclosure of the present preferred form of the invention. a Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of paper making apparatus embodyingthe novel features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig. l;

.and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view through the apparatus shown inFig. '1.

- end rings,such as 7, in Fig. 2 are provided and have a :tubular memberextending therebetween and secured at opposite ends thereto. Thecircumferential member will be in the form ofa perforated tube 8 and-maybe covered with wire cloth 9. V

and .cloth, well known in the art, will provide thedesired .foraminoussurfacevv for the spokeless, hollow; cylinder formed by the ringsandsurface, The foraminonssnr- Various arrangements or plate face isrepresented diagrammaticallyby-F infFig. 3.1

Supports, such as -lll, arevprovided andhave on their upper sides shoes, such as 1 2, of suitable bearing material. vThe end rings 7 areprovidedwith circumferential,

grooves 14 in which the shoes 12 are receivable whereby "as shown.Opposite sidewalls, suchwas 44 .connectwthe walls 38, 40 and 42 oftheregulator, and are disposed adjacent inner sides of the walls 24. U

The regulatoris movable up and down towards, and

away from the cylinder, and is tiltable so that its inner or cylinderwall 38 maybe adjusted to a desired predetermined position relative tothe upper portion of the ascending sideof the foraminous surface of thecylinder. j For this purpose brackets, such as 46 are slidable alongupper edges of the walls 24. Threaded rods 48 pivotally connected atlower ends on pins 50 of the regulator side walls 44 are slidable inopposite ends 47 of the members 46. Nuts 52 threaded on the rods 48 maybe turned to raise and lower the regulator. They'may be turned relativeto one another so as to tilt the regulator, as may be desired.

Brackets 54 are secured to outer sides of the pond walls 24, see Fig. 1.Rods 56 are rotatable in the brackets and carry manually engageablemembers 58 to facilitate turning of said rods. The rods 56 threadedlyengage portions 49 of the members 46 whereby as the rods are turned inone direction or the other the members 46 are moved back and forth, tomove the regulator back and forth.

I vertically relative to the upper end thereof for establishing stockleyel. Rods 62 have lower ends secured tothe gate-60. Upper ends of therods are threaded and are slidable in a transverse member 64 secured tothe walls 24'. Nuts are in threaded engagementwith the rods 62, and bymanipulation thereof the' rods are raised and lowered to adjust theposition of the gate 60.; V

A holey roll 67 of usual form, and waitrnewn in fl ,Asin Fig. V "nalside at 112. A lower tube 114 has an open side 11 6," and a partition'118 extends between the tubes- 110 "and"1*14.' Partitions 120 and 122extend outwardly from lator. Said holey roll is important in that thewall there 1 of being perforated for the stock to pass therethroughbrings about small turbulences as distinguished from major or greaterturbulences This results in'unifornr fiber distribution and the desiredintermin'gli'rig thereof. f

A throttle valve 68 extends transversely between the Walls 24 and in anupflow passageway 70 between the rear regulator wall and wall 33. Ashaft 69 of the valve is 'suitably-journalled relative to the pond wallsand carries' a lever 72, see Fig. l. A segment 74 fixed to the wall 24has a plurality of grooves 76. The lever 72 is fixed to the shaft 69 andhas an end portion 79 which is "receivable in the grooves 76. Said lever72 is utilized v to turn the shaft 69 to position the valve as desired.The lever is held in'adjus'ted position by its end being seated in agroove of thesegment.

'Stock from the inletis directed by the inner wall of the regulator'ontothe ascending upper portion of the surface of the Cylinder.

The throttle valve 68 is normally adjusted to a partly open position. 4

The regulator is adjusted to position the inner wall thereof relative tothe ascending surface of the cylinder thereby to obtain the desiredvelocity of stock onto the cylinder. The relation of the cylindersurface and inner wall of the regulator will be such as to result in astock velocity according to the characteristics of the stock, surfacespeed of the'cylinder and other variables. To increase the velocity ofstock inthe forming area, thethrottle' 'valve 6 8 is adjusted to ortowards the closed position thereof a Stock flowing upwardly in thepassageway 70 passes over the gate 60 and out anoutlet 80. Stock flowingup and over the inner wall of the regulator is recircuflated to thestock source through an outlet 82 and'an outlet 84 in a wall 24 of thepond. Recirculation of stock is moreor les's optional.

Stock flowing over the gate 60 flows out an outlet 80. i? In a generalway a portion of the stock flowing through the forming area flowsupwardly over and into the regulator, and a portion of the stock flowsupwardly in pets 'sa'geway 70, according to the position of the valve68. As is usual overflow stock may be taken with white water forrescreening, or isolated and recirculated to a 'point ahead of theapparatus.

An integral structure made up of compartments for separating andeliminating air and water will now be referred to. Opposite end plates90 within the ends of the cylinder are adjustably supported by the sideframes, and are held in transversely spaced relation by elongatedtransverse members to be described.

Struts such as 94 are secured to and extend outwardly from the plates90, see Fig. 2. Threaded studs 96 extend upwardly from the struts andstraps 98 loose there- 'on bear on the ledges 6 and struts. Nuts 100 onthe studs bear on and draw the struts towards the ledges. There are pads102 of the struts bearing on the inner surfaces of the ledges, see Fig.2.

The plates may be circumferentially adjusted as desired "by looseningand tightening the nuts 100.

Elongated tubular members and partition walls extend between the endplates and are secured at opposite ends 'to said plates,'as by welding.These provide a plurality of compartments inside of the cylinderincluding air and water separators. 3 a central tube 110 has an openlongituditheftubes 110 and 114 and with tube 114 aside of tube '110provide a compartment A. A transverse tube'12'4 extends between theplates 90 in the compartment'A and "has an opening 126 along a sidethereof for the withdrawal of A partition 128 extends outwardly fromtube 110. Partitions 120, 128 and said tube provide a compartment B. Atransverse air tube 130 between the end plates in said compartment'hasan open air inlet side 132.

An outer forward tube 134 extends between the end plates 90 and has anopening 136 on a side thereof. A partition 138 extends betweeni tubes110 and 134, and a partition 140 extends outwardly from the tube 134. Anair tube 142 and a partition 144 extend between the end plates 90, andsaid tube 142 has an open side 146. The partitions 128, 144 and outersides of tubes 110 and 142 providea compartment C.

The partitions 140, 144, 138, outerside'of tube 110 and tube 134 form acompartment D, having the air tube 142 therein.

A conduit has an inner end in communication with compartment C. V

Elongated yieldable sealing members, such as 152, are secured to outerends of the outwardly extending partitions and engage the inner side ofthe foraminous surface of the cylinder, to seal the compartments.

Portions of the end plates 90 carry yieldable sealing members 154engaging inner sides of the cylinder and are secured to the plates 90 bymembers 156, see Fig. 2.

Lower elongated members '160 extend between the end plates and haveopposite ends secured thereto, as

I by welding. Angle members 162 are adjacent and secured to the members160, and carry elongated bearing strips 164 which are preferably formedfrom wood.

The end plates and componentssecured therebetween provide a unitarystructure which may be circumferentially adjusted.- The bearing strips164 are adopted for sliding along within the cylinder as the structureis in'- sorted in or withdrawn from the cylinder.

The tubular members of-the air and water separator structure may beconnected to conduits at opposite end plates90 by flanges of theconduits securedfby bolts to said end plates. Openings such as areassociated with the; end plates, as in Fig. 1, for securing flangesthereto.

Where conduits are connected to one end plate the tubes at opposite endsat the opposite end plate may be closed by blank flanges, secured to theother end plate.

The larger of the tubes or water tubes will be connected by means ofconduits extending to a seal box or boxes,

drop leg, or to a water removal pump.

The relatively smaller tubes or air tubes may be connected by conduitsto a vacuum pump, or to a header connected to such a pump.

Thus air and water areseparated in the several compartments of thestructure.

The arrangement is such that compartment A underlies the sheet formingportion of the cylinder, whereat there is rapid dewatering whichcontributes to high speed operation.

Compartment B functions to bring about appreciable dewatering followingthe formation of the sheetover compartment A.

a roll P, as in Fig. 3 centrifugal forces are balanced so that waterdoes not come-out to injure the formed sheet land makes it possible forthe feltto pickup the sheet.

Eromthe foregoing it will be observed that the holey frollpromotes'micro or small turbulences and dampens out rnajonturbulences to bringabout the desired unithe sus- Theregulator, with 'the throttle in apartly open position, is adjusted so that the inner wall thereof isrelated 75 to the surface of the cylinder, according to the volume ingportion of the cylinders surface.

of stock through the inlet to bring about the desired velocity of stockonto the forming portion of the ascend- Stock velocity in the formingarea may be increased by adjusting the throttle valve to closedposition.

The stock will be controlled and regulated with reference to thecharacteristics of the stock, and the sheet to be formed so as toproduce a sheet of the desired caliper and other characteristics, at amaximum of speed.

The air-water separator structure is such, and is so connected to asource of vacuum and water removal means that there is rapid dewateringover-the compartment A where the sheet is formed, thereby contributingto the desired high speed operation.

Following dewatering by compartment A there is further dewatering bycompartment B, and the vacuum in compartment C has a balancing functionas described. The suction action in compartment D is such as to removeand purge the surface of the cylinder of water.

As explained stock flowing over the upper end of the regulator isrecirculated, and as described the air-water separating structure iscircumferentially adjustable to relate the compartments to the cylinderin different ways.

The adjustability of the regulator relative to the volume of stocksupplied through the inlet makes it possible to control and regulatestock velocity in the forming area, while the adjustability of thethrottle valve cooperates with the regulator to vary stock velocity..Stock flowing upwardly past the forming area, and stock flowingupwardly past the throttle valve may be recirculated. In operation it isadvisable that portions of stock supplied through the inlet ordistribution system overflow past the throttle valve, and upwardlybeyond the regulator whereby said stock may be rescreened orrecirculated to the stock supply. The valve 68 is particularly importantin that it may be adjusted to create back pressure against the means fordelivery stock such as a pump, or other head producing device. Thismakes it possible to control the flow of stock to the sheet forming areato a fine degree.

Having described the features of the invention in the form at presentpreferred it is desired to be limited, if at all, by the appended claimsrather than by the foregoing description.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is as follows:

1. In paper making apparatus having transversely spaced open endedopposite end frames supporting an open ended elongated tubular cylinderhaving a forminous surface for rotation on a horizontal axis and a pondchamber having an outlet onto the upper quadrant of the ascending sideof the cylinder, the improvement in unitary dewatering means fordewatering a web of paper making stock formed on the surface of thecylinder comprising, a pair of opposite end plates, mounting meansmounting said end plates relative to the end frames and in the open endsof the cylinder, said end plates being held in transversely spacedrelation by a plurality of separate elongated water and air tubesextending longitudinally through the cylinder and having opposite endsthereof secured to said plates in openings provided through said plates,each said tube provided with a low gitudinally extending inlet openingin a side thereof,first Wall members extending between and connected atopposite ends to said end plates and extending outwardly from certainsides of the openings of the water tubes to the inner side of thesurface of the cylinder, second wall members extending between andconnected at opposite ends to said end plates and extending from othersides of the openings of certain water tubes to an adjacent water tube,said first and second wall members arranged in conjunction with saidwater tubes to form a plurality of separate compartments each having awater tube and an air tube extending therealong with the openingsthereof in communication therewith and providing side by side openingsinto said compartments adjacent the inner side of the surface of thecylinder, said mounting means arranged for movements of said dewateringmeans in opposite directions circumferentially relative to the axis ofrotation of the cylinder'to adjusted positions.

2. The improvement in means for dewatering stock set forth in claim 1wherein the air tube of each compartment is disposed outwardly relativeto the water tube of said compartment. I i 3. The improvement in meansfor dewatering stock set forth in claim 1 wherein the air tube of eachcompartment is disposed outwardly relative to the Water tube of saidcompartment and said air tubes are of relatively less diameter than saidwater tubes.

4. In paper making apparatus having transversely spaced open endedopposite end frames supporting an open ended elongated tubular cylinderhaving a forminous surface for rotation on a horizontal axis and a pondchamber having an outlet onto the upper quadrant of the ascending sideof the cylinder, the improvement in unitary dewatering means fordewatering a web of paper making stock formed on the surface of thecylinder comprising, a pair of opposite end plates, mounting meansmounting said end plates on the end frames with said plates disposed inthe open ends of the cylinder, said end plates being held intransversely spaced relation by a plurality of separate elongated waterand air tubes extending through said cylinder and having opposite endssecured in openings provided in said end plates, said water and airtubes provided in a side thereof with longitudinally extending openingshaving opposite longitudinal sides, a pair of partition walls extendingbetween and connected at opposite ends to said end plates and extendingradially outwardly from the opposite sides of the opening of one saidwater tube to the inner side of the surface of said cylinder, otherradial partition walls extending between and connected at opposite endsto said end plates and extending radially outwardly from one side of theopening of the other water tubes to the inner side of the surface ofsaid cylinder, further walls extending between and connecting said endplates and extending radially outwardly from the opposite sides of theopenings of said other water tubes to the said one water tube, saidwalls of the pair thereof said other walls and said further wallsarranged and cooperating with said water tubes to provide compartmentshaving circumferentially spaced inlets at the inner side of the surfaceof the cylinder with the opening of a water and of an air tube incommunication with each compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

